Parents worldwide routinely commit their children to religious organizations to be groomed as members of the faith. Though the practice is widely accepted, a growing number of people around the world believe the practice violates the children’s human rights. In order to voice this concern, the second annual Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion is scheduled for January 20, 2013.

Some children suffer emotional harm from their confrontation with fearful dogma and superstition at an early age. Although civil libertarians have long objected to this practice, clergy in most faiths argue that a child is always free to chose a different faith waen they reach their majority—usually 18 years of age—and leave the family home. The protest organizers feel this argument is disingenuous because every effort is made during the child’s formative years to insure they will never leave the faith, including the inculcation of fear and the threat of ostracizing by family and community.

Recent neuroscience research strongly supports the idea that early religious inculcation is difficult to escape. Constant repetition of inputs to the brain have been shown to create permanent neuronal configurations that can be nearly impervious to change.

The international Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion on January 20 is being staged in cyberspace and will feature a virtual rally stage with nationally recognized experts exploring the protest themes and leading real-time discussions. The event announcement is on Facebook.